# Good basic book about founding of Israel **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 28, 2014, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-basic-book-about-founding-of-israel/694254 "2014-07-28T16:36:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-basic-book-about-founding-of-israel/694254/1 "2014-07-28T16:36:34Z")
I need one! I have some thoughts about the whole mideast morass, but I only know enough to post on reddit. Is there a good bare bones factual account of this? Need not have pics. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-basic-book-about-founding-of-israel/694254/2 "2014-07-28T16:39:32Z")
Which Israel? The best book that I’ve found about the ancient state of Israel is called “The Bible”. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-basic-book-about-founding-of-israel/694254/3 "2014-07-28T16:47:27Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Which Israel? The best book that I’ve found about the ancient state of Israel is called “The Bible”. **Moderator Note** I think it’s pretty obvious the OP is asking about the modern state. Please refrain from posting non-serious answers as the first response in GQ. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-basic-book-about-founding-of-israel/694254/4 "2014-07-28T16:48:14Z")
Since this is a request for books on a subject, let’s move it to Cafe Society. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-basic-book-about-founding-of-israel/694254/5 "2014-07-28T16:49:58Z")
Try Howard Sachur’s “A History of Israel”. ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-basic-book-about-founding-of-israel/694254/6 "2014-07-28T17:49:45Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Try Howard Sachur’s “A History of Israel”. Thanks, will check it out. Plan to get Pitted after I read it and start posting. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-basic-book-about-founding-of-israel/694254/7 "2014-07-28T18:07:58Z")
> [@seal\_cleaner](#): > > Plan to get Pitted after I read it and start posting. Why? ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-basic-book-about-founding-of-israel/694254/8 "2014-07-28T18:28:57Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Why? Kind of a weak joke. Threads about Israel tend to be somewhat heated. I have some opinions on the Israeli conflict, but not enough knowledge to responsibly post. Except on reddit, as I noted. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-basic-book-about-founding-of-israel/694254/9 "2014-07-28T18:36:11Z")
I found [The Fateful Triangle](http://www.amazon.com/Fateful-Triangle-Palestinians-Updated-Classics/dp/0896086011) very comprehensive, but some would question the objectivity of the author. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-basic-book-about-founding-of-israel/694254/10 "2014-07-28T21:14:58Z")
In another thread, **Ibn Warraq** recommended A Peace To End All Peace: The Downfall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East by David Fromkin. I haven’t started reading it yet, so I can’t give you a review. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-basic-book-about-founding-of-israel/694254/11 "2014-07-28T21:52:41Z")
It’s Sachar, not Sachur. But I question suggesting someone who is not only a Jew, but also “a member of the advisory council of the pro-Israel lobby, J Street.” according to Wikipedia as an unbiased source. ---
**Author:** ![rsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsa)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-basic-book-about-founding-of-israel/694254/12 "2014-07-28T23:17:59Z")
Sorry, I don’t have a suggestion for a good history of the mess over there, but I did find a recent interesting report on U.S. aid to Israel. It gives a bit of an overview of the history and type and amount of aid provided by the U.S. to Israel. It may be something that you would find helpful. [U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel](http://fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33222.pdf), a Congressional Research Service Report for Congress. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-basic-book-about-founding-of-israel/694254/13 "2014-07-29T00:27:30Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > It’s Sachar, not Sachur. > > But I question suggesting someone who is not only a Jew, but also “a member of the advisory council of the pro-Israel lobby, J Street.” according to Wikipedia as an unbiased source. I was phone posting. I’m lucky I only got one letter wrong. And, I don’t see why a Jew can’t write a book about Israel. The man’s a professor of History and International Affairs. He knows what he’s doing. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-basic-book-about-founding-of-israel/694254/14 "2014-07-29T00:40:31Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > It’s Sachar, not Sachur. > > But I question suggesting someone who is not only a Jew, but also “a member of the advisory council of the pro-Israel lobby, J Street.” according to Wikipedia as an unbiased source. J Street is anti-Israel lobby. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-basic-book-about-founding-of-israel/694254/15 "2014-07-29T00:59:00Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > J Street is anti-Israel lobby. It’s not. It’s pro-peace process, and pro-two state solution, and has been critical of the current government, but it’s not an anti-Israel lobby. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-basic-book-about-founding-of-israel/694254/16 "2014-07-29T01:02:19Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > It’s not. It’s pro-peace process, and pro-two state solution, and has been critical of the current government, but it’s not an anti-Israel lobby. Your opinion. In my opinion, it definitely is anti-Israel lobby. It never fails to take an anti-Israel position, on any question. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-basic-book-about-founding-of-israel/694254/17 "2014-07-29T01:13:47Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > J Street is anti-Israel lobby. No it isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-basic-book-about-founding-of-israel/694254/18 "2014-07-29T01:19:44Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > It’s Sachar, not Sachur. > > But I question suggesting someone who is not only a Jew, but also “a member of the advisory council of the pro-Israel lobby, J Street.” according to Wikipedia as an unbiased source. This post comes extremely close to being anti-Semitic. Also J Street is hardly in line with Likudnik thinking. By such bigoted reasoning it’s equally wrong to trust anything I have to say because I’m an Iranian-American Muslim who’s defended the Iranian government. By such a standard we shouldn’t use The works of either Benny Morris or Simha Flappan. For the record, I haven’t read that book, but I read his A History of the Jews in America and his father was one of the most well-regarded experts in Jewish history. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-basic-book-about-founding-of-israel/694254/19 "2014-07-29T01:22:34Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I found [The Fateful Triangle](http://www.amazon.com/Fateful-Triangle-Palestinians-Updated-Classics/dp/0896086011) very comprehensive, but some would question the objectivity of the author. holocaust/genocide deniers who freely make up quotes and regularly get caught in public lies are never good sources. Chomsky is a fantastic polemicist, that will always be popular among college freshmen who usually outgrow him by graduation. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-basic-book-about-founding-of-israel/694254/20 "2014-07-29T01:24:04Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Your opinion. In my opinion, it definitely is anti-Israel lobby. It never fails to take an anti-Israel position, on any question. There, see, seal\_cleaner, read the book. He’s associated with J Street, which is both pro-Israeli and anti-Israeli. So you know it’s unbiased. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-basic-book-about-founding-of-israel/694254.md?page=2)